Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council’s response to a complaint about the conduct of a Councillor. We do not consider the complainant has suffered sufficient personal injustice to warrant an investigation. Nor can we achieve the outcome sought.

The complaint

1. Mr X complains a Councillor failed to respond to 2 emails and a letter. He says the Councillor is a hypocrite who does not represent anyone.
2. He wants the Councillor to be made to pick litter 7 days a week for five years.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

3. The Ombudsman investigates complaints about ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’, which we call ‘fault’. We must also consider whether any fault has had an adverse impact on the person making the complaint, which we call ‘injustice’. We provide a free service but must use public money carefully. We do not start or may decide not to continue with an investigation if we decide:

• any injustice is not significant enough to justify our involvement, or
• we cannot achieve the outcome someone wants.

(Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6))

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How I considered this complaint

4. I considered information provided by the Mr X and the Council.
5. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

6. The Ombudsman has no jurisdiction to consider the actions of councillors where they are, as in this case, acting as ward councillors and not as representatives of the Council. We cannot, therefore, investigate the complaint about the failure of the Councillor to respond to Mr X’s correspondence. Neither can we seek punitive action against them as Mr X has indicated in his complaint to us.
7. We can consider how the Council responded to his concerns that there had been a breach of the Code of Conduct. However, the Council has confirmed the Councillor emailed Mr X, confirming the issue he was raising with her was not a matter for the borough Council, rather it was a county council function. She also gave Mr X the name of the relevant county councillor.
8. The Ombudsman will only normally investigate a complaint where the complainant has suffered serious loss, harm, or distress as a direct result of faults or failures by the service provider. In this case I do not consider that Mr X has suffered a significant personal injustice which warrants our involvement.

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Final decision

9. We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint because:
• we cannot investigate the conduct of the Councillor as this is outside our jurisdiction
• we do not consider he has suffered sufficient personal injustice because of the way the Council dealt with his complaint about the Councillor; and
• we cannot require the Council to punish the Councillor, therefore we cannot achieve the outcome Mr X is seeking.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman